Our father among [[saint]]s '''Gregory III''', [[Pope]] of [[Church of Rome|Rome]] (731-741), a Syrian by birth, succeeded Pope Gregory II in March 731. He vigorously opposed the [[Iconoclasm|iconoclastic]] controversy in the Byzantine Empire. He died on [[November 29]], 741. St. Gregory is remembered by the Church on [[November 28]].

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Our father among [[saint]]s '''Gregory III''', [[Pope]] of [[Church of Rome|Rome]] (731-741), a Syrian by birth, succeeded Pope Gregory II in March 731. He vigorously opposed the [[Iconoclasm|iconoclastic]] controversy in the Byzantine Empire. He died on [[November 28]], 741. St. Gregory is remembered by the Church on [[December 10]].

==Life==

==Life==

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title=[[List of the Popes of the Church of Rome|Pope of Rome]]|

title=[[List of the Popes of the Church of Rome|Pope of Rome]]|

years=731-741|

years=731-741|

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after=St Zacharias |}}

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after=St [[Zacharias of Rome|Zacharias]]|}}

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[[Category:Bishops]]

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[[Category:8th-century bishops]]

[[Category:Popes of Rome]]

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[[Category:Italian Saints]]

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[[Category:Syrian Saints]]

[[Category:Pre-Schism Western Saints]]

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[[ro:Grigorie al III-lea al Romei]]

Latest revision as of 00:09, November 28, 2012

Our father among saintsGregory III, Pope of Rome (731-741), a Syrian by birth, succeeded Pope Gregory II in March 731. He vigorously opposed the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire. He died on November 28, 741. St. Gregory is remembered by the Church on December 10.

Life

Gregory was acclaimed pope by the crowds at his predecessor's funeral.

He was the last pope to seek the Byzantine exarch's mandate. Gregory immediately appealed to the Byzantine Emperor Leo III to moderate his position on the iconoclastic controversy. When this elicited no response, Gregory called a synod in November 731, denouncing iconoclasm and excommunicating destroyers of icons. When a messenger carrying the decrees reached the emperor, the latter decided to bring the pope under control. This included appropriating papal territories and transferring ecclesiastical jurisdictions to the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Gregory's support of the empire led him to help contribute to the recapture of Ravenna after it had fallen to the Lombards in 733. However, he also sought to fortify Rome and seek alliance with opponents of the Lombard monarch Liutprand, king of the Lombards, and then from the Franks. He sent embassies to Charles Martel, who made no response, having his own priorities.